According to a recent AP article, John McCain took in $405,409 in gross personal income in 2007 (not including the millions his wife made). That included $23,157 in Social Security payments. WTF?!?!?!
Maybe I was misinformed, but I got taught in school that Social Security was a "safety net" like welfare or unemployment insurance. If you deducted his charitable donations and the Social Security, he made around $276,000. Why does he need Social Security? More importantly, why does he take it? Apparently because he can.
When I reach retirement age, the Social Security trust fund will be close to bankrupt. I'm paying in now so John McCain can get $23 grand in payments he has no need for? How many other people whose retirements would be perfectly comfortable without Social Security payments are taking the payments anyway? Every one of those people, John McCain included, is a greedy leech who is getting fat on blood from their children and grandchildren.
First thing I'd like to see Obama do when he becomes president is order a one year study, compiling statistics on how much money Social Security would save if we cut benefits to the wealthiest 10/20/30 percent of recipients. If we took away this government pork from wealthier old people who didn't need it, could we keep Social Security solvent? More than that, could we use some of those savings to raise the benefits of the poorest recipients who have to struggle to get by on the $25k a year they get now?
What if we used a formula like, anyone who has taxable income greater than 3x the poverty level for a family of 4 in their region, or has personal assets totalling over $3 million (excluding the value of their primary residence) doesn't get Social Security payments. Basically, if you don't need them, you don't get them.
Would we save enough to save Social Security? Would we save enough to give the poorest recipients a bit more so they can live with a little more dignity?
It's so funny to see the Republicans coin terms like "Welfare queen" when their presidential candidate is a "Social Security piglet," sucking money he doesn't need from the public teat. Isn't a leader, particularly one with a military background like McCain, supposed to lead by example? So is his example to willfully suck Social Security dry? Is his example to take money simply because it's there to be taken, even if he doesn't need it and taking it actually does harm to our country?
Maybe the people who collect Social Security benefits they don't need are such a minority, it wouldn't make a difference in the long run. But it would be nice to know that for a fact. And I'll bet you that if you vote for John McCain, Social Security piglet, that study will never be commissioned. It's possible that the AARP and elderly voters will scare Obama so much that he won't commission it either, but at least with him there's a chance.
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